The Adventures of Gay Goth and Preppy Prat
by Candace Caden
Summary: Modern AU. Merlin is forced to finish up his school year at a preppy private school. He meets Arthur outside of the school on his first day of class. He hates him, because he's decided to hate everything about the school, but Arthur quickly makes him want to change his opinion about him. Arthur, on the other hand, doesn't know what to think of Merlin. Rated T for language.
1. entwined destines

**entwined destines**

"Watch it!"

Merlin was in no mood for this kind of shit. Usually he was a pretty nice person, or at least was nice to other people regardless of how he truly felt, but today he was in no state to be nice. So when he replied, "So sorry, your highness." it was in a voice filled with venom instead of the sarcasm it usually would be.

"I don't know you." The voice was far too chipper in reply to Merlin's foul words. Well, perhaps not chipper, but inquisitive. Let's be honest, any reply in any tone was enough to annoy Merlin at this point.

Merlin stopped in his tracks and turned, coming face-to-face with a blonde. Merlin resisted the urge to punch him in his pretty mouth... which seriously was pretty, so pretty it was actually a little infuriating. Merlin collectively rolled his eyes at his thoughts and at the guy standing in front of him. "Keen observation. Now I'll be going." Merlin spun back around and took a step forward.

"Hold up, cheekbones." Merlin was going to hit this bloke, his fuse was burned down pretty low already.

He turned around more slowly this time. "Cheekbones?" People usually went for the ears. "You likin' em?"

The guy was silent for a few, stretching seconds, making Merlin think he'd set off the homophobe bomb, but then the guy just sort of smiled and said, "They're something to behold."

That was enough indulging. "Did you just want to sarcastically compliment me or do you actually want something?"

"I know everyone." Yes, thank you pretty boy, that completely excuses you from the wrath I am containing.

"One of the perks of going to such a small school I imagine," Merlin grumbled back. "Fantastic."

"So you're new here." Stop trying to make conversation happen, it's not going to happen.

"Unfortunately. Can I go now? I have a class I don't want to go to in some building I can't pronounce."

The guy stared at him for a moment, not saying anything. As soon as he made a move to speak again Merlin just said "Nope," and turned and walked away quickly.

Merlin made it inside the school before he had the distinct and unquestionable feeling that someone was following him. He stopped and pivoted around quickly. Sure enough it was the blonde.

"You getting a nice view of my ass back there, pretty boy?"

After a beat of silence he replied, "Now that you mention it..." his eyes racked over Merlin's body "how the hell did you get yourself into those jeans, they're very... tight."

"Squeezing into tight spaces is a specialty of mine."

"Are you coming onto me?"

"I'd never come onto someone who could be such an ass."

"Then I feel the need to inform you that you speak in sexual innuendos."

"I had no idea," Merlin replied sarcastically. "So why the hell are you following me, blondie? Thought I made it pretty clear I wasn't interested."

"I wasn't following you, unfortunately I think we're going to the same place."

"fan-fucking-tastic."

The blonde snatched Merlin's schedule from his fingers and scanned it. Instead of complaining Merlin just took in his stupidly attractive... everything.

"Yup. Follow me, Captain Tightpants."

"Did you just..." and he had already begun walking ahead. He wanted to hit this guy, Firefly fan or not, he wanted to deck him. But... well, _butt_. He had a nice one. He had a nice everything, the bastard. Merlin made sure to follow him cause he really _didn't_ know where he was going, and the jerk had taken Merlin's schedule (the only copy he had on him). It seemed to take way too long for them to reach a doorway, which the blonde stood at holding Merlin's schedule out waiting for him to catch up so he could take it. Merlin snatched it from him as he walked by and snidely remarked, "Nice ass, blondie."

He actually chuckled and responded, "The name's Arthur, cheekbones." He followed him into the room and looked expectantly at Merlin.

Merlin sat at an empty desk and looked up at him blankly. "You can just call me cheekbones, blondie."

"I'm going to find out your name one way or another."

"I'm sure you will, but it won't be from me. And doesn't that just burn a hole right in your mental parachute?"

"Consider my bells no longer harmonious."

Merlin ground his teeth. Dammit, he couldn't resist a fellow fan. "It's Merlin. Now can you please go be stupidly attractive and smug somewhere else?

"Arthur and Merlin." He bowed. "Our destines are entwined, great warlock."

"You're doing this thing where everything you say makes me hate you less but want to punch you in the face more."

"It's a specialty of mine."

"Think you can leave me alone now?"

"Sorry, I can't." Arthur sat down in the desk directly beside Merlin and turned to face him. "See, the Professor is going to come in here any minute and tell me to get the new kid caught up, seeing as how you're coming into the class halfway through."

"And why must it be your responsibility to get me caught up?"

"I'm valedictorian." He shrugged like it meant nothing. "They're always making me do shit like this." Merlin wanted to tell him he wouldn't be valedictorian for long, now that Merlin was there, but even through his cloud of anger he heard just how rude and narcissistic it would sound.

Just then an old man bustled into the room and said "Pendragon, we've got a new- Oh, you've already got a handle on him. Excellent. Get him caught up." The old man looked at Merlin then and said, "Call me Gauis, everyone does." He went back to bustling about at the front of the room.

Merlin looked back to Arthur. "Did he call you-" He just looked at him blankly. "Fuck me sideways."

"You know, you're the first person in a long time to hate me before knowing who my father is."

"So, it is Pendragon as in Uther Pendragon, the guy that owns and runs Camelot Academy, the place we are right now?"

He shrugged.

"Your father is an asshole."

Arthur just stared at him, looking surprised.

"Sorry."

"No, continue. Seriously, I'd love to hear this story. You sound like you have a genuine reason to hate him, most people don't, or just think they do." Merlin could hear the unspoken, _No one hates him as much as I do_, in Arthur's words. Merlin was a little surprised, but not _that _surprised. Merlin figured if anyone would understand his frustrations with Uther Pendragon then, yeah, it _would _be the man's own son.

"Your damn father is the reason I'm stuck here." Merlin huffed, just getting started. "I was set to graduate at the end of my fall semester and then my dad died unexpectedly and I had to move back in with my mom." Merlin was moving his hands along with his dialogue, as if it contributed more detail to his rambling. "Your asshole father pulled strings to get me enrolled here to pull up the score averages or some shit and now I'm stuck here for another semester on some fucking technicality that your father wrote up to keep me here long enough to affect the school image or some shit," he finished in a rush.

Arthur took it all in stride and replied, "Sorry about your dad... and sorry about my own."

Merlin sighed. "Don't worry about it, I hardly knew him." Arthur gave him a questioning look. "I moved in with him to go to a better school, we didn't know each other long and didn't have much time to get close. And the actions of your father aren't for you to apologize for."

Arthur looked surprised, Merlin wasn't sure what he had said that warranted such a response. "You couldn't just stay there and finish up the semester?"

"My only other family is my mom and she couldn't stay with me or she'd lose her job. And I couldn't stay on my own, too young."

"How old are you?"

Merlin looked a little offended. "How old are _you?"_

"I'm seventeen."

Merlin shifted unconformable. "Fifteen."

"You were set to graduate at fifteen?" Arthur sounded impressed. "How many grades did you skip?"

"Only the boring ones."

"So you're some kind of genius. Set to graduate at fifteen. My father pulled strings to get you here. Not worried about getting caught up in classes you're coming into halfway through. Plus you've got that look."

"What look?"

"That little gleam in your eye that says you know you're the smartest person in the room."

"I didn't know I had a look."

"You have a look. It goes pretty well with your other look."

"What look is that?"

"Your whole gay goth thing."

"Gay goth... catchy, sounds like a superhero. Guess that would make you my sidekick preppy prat."

"So you're not denying it then?"

Merlin was confused for a moment before releasing what Arthur must be referring to. "Sorry, I forgot I should deny being attracted to a person's personality over their gender in order to avoid making you feel uncomfortable."

There was an uncomfortable amount of silence.

"Is there a reason you're staring at me?" Homophobe bomb detonating in 3, 2-

"There's something about you, Merlin. I can't quite put my finger on it." Maybe the bomb wasn't going to go off after all...

* * *

REFERENCES

* Stop trying to make conversation happen, it's not going to happen. -play on Mean Girls "Stop trying to make fetch happen, it's not going to happen."

* "Captain Tightpants" -Firefly

* "burn a hole right in your mental parachute" and "Consider my bells no longer harmonious." -play on Olan Rogers (makes Youtube videos and has a Fandango show called ADMIT ONE)

* goth Merlin -100% reference to Colin's role as Jethro on Doctor Who

* "That little gleam in your eye that says you know you're the smartest person in the room." -not exactly a reference but it was inspired by Now You See Me, particularly that look Atlas had throughout his entire interrogation and then of course when he says "Always be the smartest guy in the room."


	2. Interlude: thinking

**a clear head**

_Gay Goth_

So Arthur was straight. Apparently. That's what Merlin had heard anyway, what everyone thought. Not that Merlin cared about anything that was Arthur related... Okay, he was a little curious. After he blew off his initial steam his first day he realized just how badly he had been acting when he met Arthur. And yet the guy had still talked to him. I mean, Merlin had come onto Arthur _hard_ and the guy had just taken it in stride, went along with it, accepted it. The blonde was probably used to the attention. But Merlin was surprised. People like Arthur usually didn't even speak to Merlin, let alone just be okay with everything he had going on. If they weren't turned off by the whole "goth" thing (he liked wearing black and his hair was naturally thing color, okay?), then they usually were by the "gay" thing (really he supposed he was pansexual but no one ever knew what that meant and what a stupid word anyway). No, Arthur was someone that didn't fall into the category of expected behavior. Then there was the fact that he was a Pendragon. Merlin's opinion was a little biased, but he was guessing the son wasn't like the father. The daughter didn't seem to be either, who Merlin had met later on the same day. Adopted, long-lost half sister... or some shit like that. This family was so weird. Rich people. Merlin didn't think he'd ever understand. They just had a whole different set of problems.

* * *

**a not so clear head**

_Preppy Prat_

Arthur was straight. Apparently. That's what he told everyone anyway, what everyone believed. Arthur had even believed it himself, or, at least, tricked himself into believing it. But now Merlin had him thinking about it again. Questioning some of the little things he'd notice himself doing or thinking that he suspected weren't quite... heterosexual. Like the fact that Merlin's ass _did _look really good in those ridiculously tight jeans. And his cheekbones _are _something to behold. Surely, straight guys shouldn't notice or at least shouldn't care about these things. But Arthur did. He _really _did. But he was Arthur Pendragon, people expected things from him. Dammit, he didn't know what he should do. Ignore it, probably. That's what he did, he ignored people. He didn't get close to people. He didn't let anyone get to know him. His father expected him to be perfect, so that's how he acted, as if he thought he was perfect. It basically translated into him acting like an ass and everyone hating him, but better they hate him then see who he really was. He didn't even know who he really was, he couldn't let anyone else figure it out before him. This Merlin bloke was a threat. He made Arthur act more like himself. And Arthur _loved _it, loved throwing around fandom references and acting like a normal person. He should stay away from this guy, but he really didn't want to... he was so fucked.


	3. fire-breathing cats

**fire-breathing cats**

_Preppy Prat_

So Arthur had taken to watching Merlin... in a non-creepy, non-stalker way. Okay, he wasn't even kidding _himself_, he was being a total creepy stalker. But he _wasn't _talking to him. Arthur was priding himself on that small accomplishment, because it was talking to him that really posed the threat. So Arthur watched him.

Since they were both top ranking students they had a lot of classes together. Merlin never paid attention. He was blatant in his desire not to be there. When he wasn't staring at the wall he was doodling in a notebook. The teachers never said anything against him, knowing that he was there because of the wishes of the headmaster himself. Arthur figured Merlin wouldn't even show up at all if he had his way, Arthur could only figure that he couldn't get around the attendance policy.

Arthur kept his distance, hoping it would make his watching a little less obvious. He wasn't sure it was working. One day he couldn't keep his distance, however. He had been running late for his class so by the time he got there the only seat available was the one directly next to Merlin. Today he was drawling _not _doodling. Now that Arthur was up close he could see that. And Merlin had a sketchpad, not an ordinary notebook.

For a long time Arthur couldn't work out what he was working on, but it was clear that it was going to be something to behold when it was completed. Merlin was concentrating more than he usually did. Arthur wasn't sure what they talked about in class that day, because he spent it watching Merlin's random shapes turning into a picture; becoming more and more defined as he shaded in the outline with what Arthur could only assume was the utmost accuracy.

It was a dragon.

It was amazing.

Merlin signed the corner just as the bell rang. Without a word he ripped it out of his book and handed it to Arthur who took it for a lack of anything else to do.

Merlin walked away as Arthur stared at the detailed shading that was the great dragon's scales. As he looked he couldn't help but think he saw a pattern in the swirls... it spelled out Pendragon... that little shit.

He didn't see the phone number scribbled on the back until the next morning.

* * *

REFERENCES

* fire-breathing cats -a friend of mine said if there was anything she learned from HTTYD it was that dragons are just basically fire-breathing cats

* Merlin's drawling -the idea is that he's drawling a detailed version of the Pendragon crest


	4. it's covert and shit

**it's covert and shit**

_Gay Goth_

Merlin had a plan. He wasn't an idiot, he noticed Arthur watching him. He also noticed that despite his interest he seemed to go out of his way to _not _talk to Merlin. So, yeah, not an idiot. Actually, kind of a genius over here. So while Arthur was having his big gay crisis Merlin was being all covert and shit and finding out more about Arthur. He made some casual friends around school (Gwen, Lacelot, Gwain, Leon, Percival, and Freya) and become close friends with Arthur's sister, Morgana.

He was gathering information, real sleuthy, spy stuff. He found out that everyone thought Arthur was an ass. That they _did _like to blame him for everything his father did. That a lot of people thought his standing of valedictorian was a farce, that it was just his father rewriting his records or coercing the teachers of something of the like. He found out Arthur had no friends, never dated, and didn't talk to anyone other than his sister and Gauis. He was able to find out from Morgana that Gauis had been a sort of pseudo father to Arthur which, well, actually explained a lot.

Merlin also made sure to keep wearing his tight skinny jeans which he _knew _Arthur liked, even if he didn't realize it. He started wearing all his fandom shirts and watching Arthur's reaction to see if he was a fan or not. He also made sure to do well in his classes so he could battle Arthur for valedictorian, knowing if he had earned it Arthur would react to the possibility of losing his position.

He was playing for the win, Arthur was still on the bench. So Merlin needed to get him in the game. And if Merlin had a weakness it was impatience. The frailty of genius, staying entertained. Merlin needed to move this along because the game was no fun when you were playing alone. So after a month of gathering information and being watched by Arthur he set the play into motion, the one that would get him the winning touchdown. So he recruited Morgana to distract Arthur, just long enough that he'd get to class as the bell rang, forcing Arthur to sit next to him. Then he went about drawling the dragon that he had made sure to practice beforehand so he could manage it during the class period. He also wrote the number on the back beforehand, so Arthur wouldn't see him do it. He figured it would take at least a day for Arthur to stop staring at the drawling long enough to see the number on the back.

Merlin was kind of a genius. An evil genius.

* * *

REFERENCES

* it's covert and shit -Boondock Saints 2

* And if Merlin had a weakness it was impatience. The frailty of genius, staying entertained. Merlin needed to move this along because the game was no fun when you were playing alone. -whole thing is a play on BBC Sherlock


End file.
